In the Morning
by Washu1
Summary: Niles decides to have a long awaited conversation with Daphne, but finds a sleeping goddess instead.


In the Morning  
  
__________  
  
"You know, Frasier is coming back soon." Martin called from the door over to Niles, who was sitting contently and comfortably on the couch.  
  
"Yes Dad." He echoed back.  
  
"So, you can just wait here, really, he'll be back any second."  
  
"Right Dad."  
  
"So I don't have to stay here with you until he does show up, do I?"  
  
"No Dad." Niles said again, in the same tone as he had the many times before.  
  
"Well, good. I'm off to McGinty's then. See ya!" Martin shouted, while closing the door securely behind him.  
  
Niles waited a few minutes to make sure he was certainly gone, and that Frasier wouldn't actually show up. He could assume that Martin had been lying just to get out of the apartment, but it was nice just to be sure. Looking back and forth at the door, rocking his body to-and-fro nervously every few seconds until he was sure no one would storm in, unwelcome to Niles and his heartfelt plan. Once he was confident that he had nothing to worry about, he gripped the sides of the soft brown cushions as he rose insecurely from his seat, taking his first wobbly steps towards...Daphne's bedroom.  
  
He had just one thing on his mind; Daphne. Decided it was, long ago, that the moment he contained the courage to tell her exactly how he felt - He would just simply tell her. Plain and simple...No ifs and/or buts about it. That night he experienced a jolt in his heartbeat. The bravery and strength he needed was there, so all he had to do was dash over to Frasier's as quickly as possible before his brain began to argue with his heart. He really didn't want to see Frasier, he just needed an excuse to use to get in...Though he would have been let in anyway. Elliot Bay Towers seemed like more of a home than the Montana, he stayed there day and night, when welcomed and unwelcome, but they were family. Very, very close family. He took a few more long strides toward her bedroom, becoming more nervous in each uneasy step. Then he was there, a measly foot outside Daphne's very doorway. His hand rose to knock at it but he stopped himself, then bit the flesh of his lip and hesitated.  
  
Every other chance he had ever gotten to tell Daphne the way he truly felt had always been ruined...Sabotaged. She would find someone else just minutes before he had the chance to explain to her...Or Frasier would so knowingly talk him out of it. In the back of his mind he could imagine Frasier stumbling in through the front door right when he was in the middle of illuminating her about his love felt standpoint. He'd clear it all up somehow and persuade him not to do it...but no...He couldn't let him do that to him again.  
  
Arching his forefinger, he softly tapped the wood of Daphne's door three affectionate times with his knuckle. "Daphne?" He whispered under his breath through the door, yet there was no reply. So, as quietly as possible, he twisted the doorknob and opened the entry to her mystifying room. Taking little step by little step into it until he finally saw her. His Daphne.  
  
She was fast asleep. Sleeping upright on her flowered bedspread, in her fluffed robe...She had a book lying steadily across her chest, and her chin had tilted back a little as she slept. The light from her fragile reading lamp was surrounding her and Niles couldn't help but stare, astonishingly at her. She was gorgeous.  
  
Sauntering slowly over to the right of her bed, he sat down uncomfortably on the side, his face facing away from her. He could practice; she was asleep, so he could practice what he would say to her - There and then. He stared mindlessly at the floor as he spoke idly...  
  
"You know...Daphne...I..." He was interrupted slightly by the sound of her book flutter off her chest and onto the bed. Turning his head to look at it, he saw it resting next, but still close to her. "William Shakespeare..." he read tenderly aloud, panning his eyes away from the book and up to his sleeping angel. His Juliet, he corrected himself as he gradually slid his legs up onto the bed, not knowing if she were a light or heavy sleeper.  
  
So there he was, sitting upright in bed with the woman of his dreams, yet he didn't want to wake her just yet. He glanced nervously around the room, looking for something other than Daphne to focus on. Ah, he finally spotted something. Little by little his hand grew closer towards the motionless book, if he would have nothing to do for the time being he would silently read to himself. He smiled, a romance of all things. His slender fingers grasped the inside pages as he tried to pull it away from Daphne's charming side, then it happened. Daphne began to stir. Niles stopped moving, breathing, thinking; he just sat there in panic and gazed at her now mobile body.  
  
She lifted her body slightly and then rolled smoothly to her right, having her entire self collide mercilessly into Niles. She was still asleep, and Niles thought he had died; not knowing whether his heartbeat was bolting or if it had stopped altogether. The breaths that he had stopped when had first seen Daphne stir were still choked in his throat, and he was still stiff as a board, but his thoughts were now racing. What is she doing? How will I ever leave? Is she trying to kill me!?  
  
Daphne's face gently nestled into Niles's heart beating chest, as she mumbled little unfinished words softly into his tie. He was stunned. Niles didn't have to wonder about his previous questions anymore, 'if she is trying to kill me - I'll die a happy man' was the only thing on his mind. Her elegant hand was gripping the inside of his coat lightly, and her beautiful, silky brown hair was just inches away from his now dumbfounded face...it was taunting him, teasing him, he had to...He wholeheartedly smelled her auburn hair unwillingly, and let it out with a sigh. Vanilla and rose blossoms. The first time he had taken a breath in the last minute had been of Daphne. He thought quickly and wordlessly to himself and then admitted his defeat. He was wrong, he had died, God had been so compassionate towards him - This was Heaven. Or as much Heaven he could ever wish for.  
  
He began to long to hold her, she held him but he was still in the same awkward position that he was when she first gracefully turned into him. All he had to do was lift his arm and wrap it around her, then he'd be even more ecstatic than he already was, but if she were to wake up...He cringed, the thought was unbearable. The greatest and worst moments of his life would of happened so close in time together, at least that's what he negatively assumed. He took a enormous risk, and bottled up every ounce of nerve he had in him when his hand left the book. He glanced down at Daphne; she still lay peacefully against his side, undisturbed by his recent movements.  
  
Relieved, his hand wandered aimlessly, steadily and slowly to get closer and closer towards her shoulder. He bit his tongue nervously, 'almost there', he thought in his heart pounding head, reassuring his decision. Then, finally, he felt her warm shoulder clasped firmly in his palm, he let his arm drape against her back tenderly...lovingly.  
  
Niles sighed a happy sigh, holding his goddess close against his body, without her trying to pull away. Of course, she was sound asleep, but he put that out of his mind. He closed his eyes at peace, knowing that he still hadn't done what he had come there to do. He tilted his chin down, and whispered softly to the top of her head, "...I love you..." just before lightly pressing his lips against it.  
  
In the back of his mind he still wondered what she would think or say when she awoke and found him there with her, but he could never live without sharing this moment with the love of his life. He relaxed and leaned against the back of the bed, his eyes and mouth now closed loosely. He thought about her awakening, what she would think or do. She may be furious, maybe not; she would definitely be confused, or perhaps she'd feel enlightened and safe as he did. It didn't matter, he would just simply explain to her in the morning...  
  
__________  
  
The End  
  
__________  
  
Authors Notes: I hope you liked it ~ It's just a short sweet little story I was thinking of while I was watching the episode 'Come Lie With Me'. In the beginning Daphne cuddled up into Joe, I was just thinking, "That should be Niles!" Hehe, anyway...Reviews welcome! 


End file.
